RWBY-Freelancer
by sergeant peace
Summary: the Alpha AI, to the nation of Atlas, it is an opportunity to better their huntsmen and soldiers, for Project Freelancer, it is a chance to test their equipment in the field without risking their own agents. but to Ruby Rose, he is a new found friend and ally in a world that has gone completely crazy.
1. Chapter 1

Ruby sat on the cold operation table, nervously playing with her headphone cord as she did. And while she did, she couldn't help but think about the moment that lead her to this.

"_Ms. Rose," Ozpin said, looking at her from behind his desk, "I'm sorry for bringing you here so late at night, but I needed to talk to you about a…special project."_

_"It's alright Professor, so what's this special project?"_

"_Atlas has developed an Artificial intelligence, designed to aid hunters in battle, however, to help them they must first be..integrated, into the huntsman, it's projected that the procedure would only have a forty-eight percent success rate among huntsman who are aged over twenty-five…but in a huntsman under twenty…the success rate skyrockets to ninety percent."_

"_and…you want me to…get the procedure?"_

_Ozpin closed his eyes, "your name…has been thrown around by Ironwood and his scientists as a prime candidate…but I want you to understand the risks that come with this before you make a decision, because this is a dangerous operation."_

_"what…what could happen?"_

_"you could lose your memories, you could lose mobility in your arms and legs…you could very well die."_

_Ruby mulled this over, "but…you said it was a ninety percent chance that nothing happens…right?"_

_Ozpin nodded hesitantly, "that is what the scientists have projected." He said slowly._

"_then I accept."_

_Ozpin's eyes widened, "Ms. Rose please think about this seriously-"_

_"I did," Ruby said, "and if it can help my team, then I'll do it, it's worth the risk."_

_Ozpin looked down, "if you're sure…then I will contact Ironwood and get things ready."_

that had been three weeks ago, and as Dr. Polendina walked in, she felt a small trickle of doubt go through her brain.

"so, Ms. Rose, you ready?" the kindly old man asked, running his hand through his goatee in an attempt to fix it, his wild, unkempt hair was waving slightly as he walked, making Ruby giggle.

"I'm ready Dr. Polendina." She said.

"come now Ruby," Dr. Polendina said sternly, "we're friends aren't we? You can call me Charles."

"right, sorry Dr-I mean- Charles."

"there we go." He said happily, putting his spectacles on, 'now, this procedure is going to take quite a bit of time, putting the bio-sensors into your spinal column will be the most time consuming, but the actual AI port may prove to be tricky."

"o-okay…how long do you think it'll take?"

Hmm…" he stroked his goatee, "I would estimate about four hours, but don't worry, to you, it'll feel like a couple of minutes, now, would you please take the hospital gown off and lie on the table? I will get the anesthesia ready."

"okay…" Ruby said, slowly standing up and taking the gown off, leaving her in chest bindings and a pair of cotton panties, she carefully laid down on the table and shivered at the cold metal.

"now, I'm going to put you under," he said, walking over and picking up a mask with a hose attached to it, "just take a couple of deep breaths and the Anesthesia will put you to sleep, are you ready?"

she nodded as Dr. Polendina put the mask over her nose and mouth, Ruby took a couple of deep breaths and felt her eyes droop.

"sweet dreams Ruby," Dr. Polendina said, walking over to a button and pressing it, "this is the video log of Dr. Polendina," he said, looking towards a small camera that was slowly following his moves, zooming in and out, "today we will begin the trial tests for Project Insight, under the direct oversight of Project Freelancer, our volunteer, Ms. Ruby Rose, is prepped and ready for surgery." He walked towards the table, the camera following, "I will now begin the procedure, by enabling the 0-G conditions." He said, pulling out his scroll and tapping it a couple of times, he waited a couple of minutes, then carefully moved the table, leaving Ruby suspended in the air.

"we will begin by turning the patient over, so as to start inserting the bio-sensors." He said, "we will be inserting sixteen of them, twelve along the spinal column, one on either shoulder, and one on each leg."

Ozpin watched Dr. Polendina carefully cut away at the back of Ruby's head, "how's it going?" Ironwood asked, walking into the observation room.

"fine so far," Ozpin said, taking a sip, "Dr. Polendina has inserted the Bio-sensors and is now attempting to put the AI port in the back of her head…"

Ironwood sat down and pulled a flask out, taking a gulp of the liquid inside, "Dr. Polendina is the best neurosurgeon Atlas has, he's also one of the best robotics technician we've ever had."

"even the best can make mistakes James." Ozpin muttered.

Ironwood rolled his eyes, "Ozpin, I promise you Ms. Rose will be fine."

"be careful what you promise James." Ozpin said, standing up as Polendina walked back to his equipment table, he pressed a button on the wall, "Dr. Polendina, what is Ms. Rose's status?"

"we're almost done Professor," Dr. Polendina said, slowly picking up a small box, "the last thing to do…is turn everything on and insert the AI…this is the point of no return, where the ten percent is at it's most probable."

"then take it slow Dr." Ironwood said.

Dr. Polendina nodded and walked towards Ruby with the box.

Ozpin stepped away from the button, "I'm surprised the Director didn't come to this, he has been pushing so hard for his project, and yet when we finally instate it he's not here to see it."

"I wondered the same thing," Ironwood said, "when I attempted to contact him, I was told he was 'in a meeting'."

"I don't trust that man Jimmy, not one bit."

"he's…shady at times, but he's a good man."

Ozpin looked down, then back up as Polendina very carefully put the AI into the port, "running systems diagnostics in three…two…one…"

The bio-sensors on Ruby's back all turned blue, and Ruby's eyes opened.

"is she waking up?" Ozpin asked, standing up once more.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Ironwood called over the intercom.

"I don't know, she shouldn't be able to wake up at the moment! She has a steady stream of Anesthesia going through her system!" Polendina said, turning ruby over as the young huntress turned her head towards Polendina.

"Ms. Rose?" he asked.

"his name is church." She mumbled out, before closing her eyes once more.

For a couple of minutes, no one said anything, until Ozpin turned slowly to Ironwood, "what is the AI's designation?" he asked quietly.

"Alpha," Ironwood muttered.

"then why…"

"I don't know Oz," Ironwood said as he slowly walked towards the door, "I don't know…"

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Ruby woke up with a throbbing head-ache, "ow…" she croaked out.

"about time you woke up." a strangely familiar voice said, Ruby opened her eyes, "who's…."

"you won't be seeing me yet kid, still haven't gotten the whole 'holographic projector' thing down yet on your phone, but give me a couple seconds."

"Church…' she whispered.

"didn't think you'd remember my name." Church said, "I mean…you were high on sedatives when I told you…so…yeah…"

"where's your voice coming from?" she asked. Slowly sitting up in the bed, wincing at the pain in her back.

"your scroll," he said, making her slowly turn her head to look at her scroll, which was on the nightstand, "technically I could talk in your head, but I'd rather not make your head hurt this early in the relationship."

she gave a soft chuckle, wincing as slight pain went through her head.

"Careful red, you're still a little sore and stiff from the procedure, best to just lie down and relax."

Ruby nodded mutely and laid back down, "so….we're partners now huh?" she asked.

"yep, I'm the Clyde to your Bonnie."

"uh…"

"Movie reference, you'll get it one day.'

She just nodded. "I'm hungry…"

"want me to contact your team?" he asked, "They're right outside the door, been waiting for you to wake up for about six hours now."

"six hours?" she asked in confusion.

"yeah, you were…um…kinda put under more sedatives after you woke up in the middle of surgery…kinda my fault, I'll admit…"

Ruby just giggled tiredly, "so they're all out there?" she asked.

"yep, they're all asleep…white haired ones clutching her scroll like a life-line, think she's waiting on a text or something."

"she does that when she's worried." Ruby said, "I should probably tell them to come in-"

"that won't be necessary," Ozpin said, making ruby jump slightly, wincing at the pain as she looked at the door where Professor Ozpin stood, two cups of coco in his hand, "Ms. Schnee went to go get coffee and your sister and Ms. Belladonna are both still asleep."

"professor Ozpin,' Ruby said, groaning as she sat up once more, "what are you doing here?"

"Just came to make sure you were alright after the surgery." he said, setting a cup of coco on the nightstand, "how are you feeling?"

"i'm fine, head hurts…but that's to be expected right?"

Ozpin nodded, "indeed…i also wanted to talk with you about what happened during the procedure…do you remember waking up?"

Rub'ys eyes scrunched together, "i'm…um…yes…i kind of remember…but….not very well."

"you told Dr. Polendina that 'his name was church', if i remember correctly."

she nodded, "and that's his name…Church-i mean Alpha- his name is church…or he prefers church."

"and i gotta say, i apologize Professor." Church said from her scroll, "i was just trying to get her attention…and i sorta…hehe…you know what, i'm pretty sure you know what happened, i'll just…be quiet."

Ozpin looked back to Ruby, "has anything else happened? anything out of the ordinary concerning alpha?"

"Church, and i don't know…what's normal for an AI?"

Ozpin chuckled, "forgive me, i seem to be forgetting that you've only been awake for a few minutes. these questions can wait until another time." he stood up, "now, i'm sure your team would love to see you before you take another nap."

she nodded slightly, "thank you for the coco Professor." she said, carefully taking the cup.

he nodded, "you have a good night, Ms. Rose." he said, walking out, as soon as he left, her team ran in, Yang being the first one to her side and throwing her arms around her, "you're awake!" Yang exclaimed as she gave her a bone crushing hug.

"yang…still…hurt…" Ruby gasped out, making her sister let go.'

"Sorry!" Yang said quickly.

"you idiot," Weiss snapped, "she just got out of surgery and you're going to give her a bone crushing hug!?"

"It wasn't bone crushing," Church said, "but it did almost rupture some of the stitches, so no more hugs like that alright?"

the three girls froze at Church's voice, "was that…the little AI dude?"

"Little!?" Church asked in offense, as the screen of the scroll glowed until a holographic image of a small soldier in power armor appeared, standing on the glass, "i am not little!"

"i…beg to differ." Weiss said, looking at him, "you're like…miniscule!"

"no i'm not! i'm regular sized! and besides it's not the size that matters, it's what you-oh dear god you were talking about my height weren't you?"

there was a stunned silence amongst everyone in the room until yang started to laugh, "i like this guy!" she chortled while Blake rolled her eyes, her lips quirked in a small smile.

"That is vulgar!" Weiss said.

"it was an honest mistake Ice Queen, any guy would defend his honor same way i did." he said, scanning the three.

Ruby winced as images and data started to dance across her eyes, "what…" She started, trying to make sense of it all.

"oh! sorry," Church said, ending the stream of data, "I forget that that could be pretty disorienting."

"what happened?" Yang asked, worriedly fretting over her sister as she let her head fall into her hands, rubbing her eyes.

"i sent her the basic data and schematics that i would normally send her during a combat situation…i just…kinda forgot she doesn't have a visor or anything at the moment so it gave her a minor head ache…hehe whoops." he looked back to Ruby, "i'll start looking for some kind of visor or goggles so it's not going right in your retinas."

"Sounds great," Ruby said with a strained smile.

"So little dude, you're gonna be helping us on missions now?" Yang asked.

"as much as i can." Church said, looking up at Yang, "so, Leonard Church, at your service."

"Leonard Church?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"yep, that's my name, don't wear it out…or do, you know, whatever's cool with you, you guy's do you and i'll do…me…i guess…"

"I thought your Designation was Alpha." Weiss muttered, "are you malfunctioning?"

"just because those assholes gave me the designation 'Alpha' doesn't mean i agree with them ice queen."

Ruby sighed as the two devolved into bickering, "my head hurts." she mumbled

"maybe we should let Ruby get some rest guys." Blake said, giving her leader a concerned look.

"Well, she is nearing unconsciousness." Church said, "but you better take your pain killers before you go to sleep or it'll suck waking up tomorrow."

"Where are they?" Ruby asked, her eyes sliding closed.

"Right by your scroll." he motioned to the pill bottle right next to the scroll.

Yang grabbed the bottle and read the instructions before carefully shaking two white pills out and held them out, "here you go Rubes."

Ruby lazily held her hand up, Yang dropped the pills in her hand and she quickly tossed them in her mouth, chasing it down with a gulp of the cocoa.

"Alright, we're gonna head back to the dorm Ruby, if you need anything just message us and we'll be here at a moments notice, okay?"

"Okay…" Ruby mumbled.

Yang smiled as Ruby's breathing got deeper. "Come on guys." she whispered.

"See you guy's later!" Church called, "I'll keep everything held down here...hey, does she have any games on this thing?"

Weiss rolled her eyes as they walked out of the room, "I don't care if it was Ruby's call, I still think she should've talked it over with us before agreeing."

"Weiss." Blake started in exasperation.

"What if something had gone wrong? What if the anesthesia failed? What if this AI goes rogue and takes over her body?" she crossed her arms and glared at the door, "it could've ended bad."

"According to Doctor Polendina none of that can happen." Blake muttered.

"Yeah, and if Chuck says it can't happen, then it can't happen." yang said, "come on Weiss, have some faith in Ruby, she wouldn't have agreed if she hadn't of thought of all the risks and thought it was worth it. It was her choice."

Weiss's gaze softened and she looked away, "she could have at least told me…" she mumbled.

"You're her friend Weiss, not her Girlfriend." Blake said dryly.

"I'm her partner." Weiss corrected, 'i'm the person she's going to be fighting alongside when we go on missions! I think that entitles me to having at least a conversation about her doing dangerous things."

"Well too late to gripe her out about it now." Yang said brightly, "lets just get back to beacon."

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Church sat atop Ruby's scroll, legs crossed as he looked at several different holographic screens swirling around him, two of them were searching viable options for combat goggles, another two were running battlefield simulations against Grimm, the white fang, And what little he had on the insurgents that had almost caused the Fall of Beacon, all data he could gather was going into it, including video surveillance, combat class matches, psyche evaluations, and 'what-if' scenarios, anything he could to make sure he could plan for every eventuality.

The last one was playing a movie off of Netflix.

"Why would they make a live action of Death Note." he muttered, "not even good." he looked over to the last screen, which was showing the files of both Team RWBY and Team JNPR. "sister teams, work well together, leaders are inexperienced but effective, yada yada yada…" he cocked his head at several files with blacked out lines, "please be black ops shit, please be black ops shit." he swiped his hands across the black out and they disappeared, making a warning box come up, flashing in big bold red letters 'CLASSIFIED OPERATIONS' "yay!"Church cheered, wiping the warning away and disabling the alert being sent to Ironwood, "now lets see what we got…" so he started reading, from the failed Mountain Glenn mission that had caused the breach, all the way to the near death of the Artificial Construct Penny. "After Ruby Rose interfered with the semblance of a one Emerald Sustrai an unknown transmission cut through the feed an attack by the White Fang and Grimm was launched on the city...Team RWBY moved to engage...stopped terrorists before they could assault the tower of Beacon...huh, Red herself took down the leader." he looked at the little girl currently asleep on the bed, "tough as nails kid…" he carefully stored the report into his memory banks before going back to the rest of his screens, "and if we're gonna keep you intact, you're gonna need me to be prepared…"


	2. Chapter 2

"left. Right-your other right!"

"you're not helping!" Ruby shouted, jumping over the Beowulf, quickly reading over the data church was sending her.

"sorry! First fight I've been in, kinda freaked out beyond belief." Church said quickly, "five more hostiles closing in on the right!"

Ruby quickly darted to the left as four more beowolves charged through the underbrush, an alpha Beowulf slowly stalking out.

"what are my options church?" she asked quickly, looking around.

"two of the beowolves are younger, those would be the best to go after first," Church said, sending the vitals and readouts on the beowolves to the military grade goggles she was wearing as she jumped from tree to tree, dodging swiping claws, "the alpha's old, means it'll be stronger, quicker, and smarter then the others, might need to wait for the others to catch up to take it on." He shook his head, "shit, we got another six coming in from the east, they'll be here in five minutes.'

Ruby let out an irritated huff, these beowolves were a tougher then the ones she had faced almost two years ago in the woods outside of patch, their bone plating was thicker and they were much smarter then they had been all those years ago, she looked to the edge of the clearing, where a large tree was, "hey Church, do you think Crescent rose can cut through that?"

"yeah, if you use your semblance and the rifle to increase your velocity, you should be able to cut straight through, but it won't topple towards them unless…think Yang is close by?"

Ruby grinned, "Call her." She dodged into the fray once more, slashing through one Beowulf and jumping away as the others charged at her once more.

"got her on the line!"

"Yang! I need your help! Where are you!?"

"I'm close, I can hear Crescent Rose!" Yang said through her earpiece, sounding out of breath, "what do ya need?"

"Church will tell you the plan." Ruby said,firing her rifle at the five remaining beowulves, grimacing as the bullets simply bounced off the bone armor.

"those other beowolves are about to arrive Red, better get ready."

"how far off is yang."

"she's almost here, but it'll be close," church said, making a Heads Up Display appear in the left corner of her lenses, showing several red blips closing in, with a green one coming in quickly, "at least ten more seconds, you're gonna have to time this perfectly.

"coordinate us," Ruby said, going to the far edge of the clearing, "ready?"

"yeah, we're both ready.' Church said.

"Ready when you are Rubes!" Yang said through their comms.

"three," church started countin down as the beowolves closed in, "two, one-go!"

Ruby took off across the clearing, shooting off a couple of shots to quicken her pace, she changed her scythe into it's glaive form, swinging it as she passed the fifteen foot tree, cutting straight through the trunk, it started to fall sideways until Yang suddenly blasted into the clearing, punching the trunk and sending it flying into the beowolves, killing four of them in the initial contact and disorienting another six, only the alpha stayed standing, shaking it's head in irritation.

"the Alpha's still up." church said as Yang and Ruby took care of the disoriented beowolves, "this thing is stronger then the average alpha…but it's got some weak points, it's got a bad left leg and has a hitch in it's right shoulder, delay time on it's swipe is four seconds, think you can exploit it red?"

"Definitely," Ruby said, looking at Yang, "hit it's left leg!" Ruby shouted to her sister, taking off while Yang aimed a shot at it's hind leg, the Beowulf let out a pained howl as the shot connected and it's leg twisted with a sickening snap, it swung at Ruby, who ducked underneath it's attack and slashed it in half from shoulder to hip, as it disintegrated, Ruby turned around and smiled at her sister, "thanks" she panted out.

"anytime sis," yang said, high-fiving her sister, "nice plan by the way."

"it wasn't mine, it was church's." she said, smiling when church appeared as a hologram on her shoulder.

"almost didn't think of it, things were going so fast…are fights usually this…heptic?"

yang chuckled, "yeah, usually," she said, sitting down on the trunk, "better start getting used to it."

"well, time for me is a lot slower then it is for you," church said, "but the variables kept changing by the micro second, beowulves aren't as methodical as the hologram fights we went through make them out."

"nope, they're impulsive creatures," Yang said with a smile, "c'mon, we should go find Weiss and Blake, they said their part of the forest was clear so we can head back to Beacon."

they started walking side by side, church sat on Ruby's shoulder, "you have a couple of scratches on your arm and leg," he said, "so does Yang, she also has a broken rib and bruising on her shoulder."

"our Aura we'll heal it." Ruby said dismissively.

"you're Aura's at fifteen percent, it's not going to heal it for another two days at least."

Ruby looked surprised as she looked at her aura levels through her goggles, "i…wow.' She whispered.

"I recommend getting some armor," Church said, "preferably something that isn't bulky like Winchesters armor."

Ruby grimaced, "but…I've never had to use armor before, not even Uncle Qrow uses armor."

"and how many life threatening injuries has he gotten?"

"…that's not the point."

"right, because serious injury and wearing no armor have no correlation."

"yeah, yeah, I'll think about it."

"great, I'll start making some schematics for a design I was thinking about, we'll have to get rid of your combat skirt though.

"w-what!?"

"it's impractical, I mean, come on, fighting monsters in the woods…in a skirt."

"he's got a point Rubes." Yang put in. "the skirts not very practical for a fight."

Ruby pouted as they walked into another clearing, where Weiss and Blake were waiting by a bullhead.

"how'd everything go?" Blake asked Ruby.

"good, Church is really helpful," she said with a smile, pushing the goggles up into her hair, "got a little banged up though.

"so the trial run went alright?" Weiss asked, "everythings…running normal."

"as normal as they could be," Church said, "but I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't stop you from getting those injuries.'

"I only got hit twice," Ruby dismissed, "I'm fine."

"you got hit three times," Church said, "and that brought your aura down to dangerous levels, if I had been a little faster-"

"Church, I'm fine." Ruby said with a smile, "don't worry.'

Church hesitated, then sighed, "alright, but I'm gonna be rerunning that scenario again in my head, see what we could've done better."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "whatever you think will help Church." She said, stepping onto the bullhead.

"man, the little guy really beats himself up, doesn't he?" Yang whispered to blake.

"AI learn from any discrepancies," Blake whispered back, "but he's not just an ordinary AI, he's a Smart AI, which means he's even more critical of any mistakes he makes, incidental or otherwise."

"still, he doesn't have to be so hard on himself for a couple of injuries."

"he's a computer," Weiss muttered to them, "don't act like he can feel emotions."

"you know I can hear all you right?" Church asked, making all three girls freeze up, "sheesh, you guys need to work on your whispering."

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**three days later.**

Ruby sat in combat class, watching Cardin fight against a faunus boy, Church sat on her shoulder, recording the entire fight, "why do they always put smaller opponents against him?" Church asked, "if it were me, I'd match him up with someone like Yang, make it a real fight."

"Professor goodwitch makes matches like this so students can get out of their comfort zone," Weiss muttered from her seat, "make the smaller student learn how to go up against larger opponents, fight with brains instead of brawn."

"but this is the fourth match where Cardin just wails on them and then they get counseled by goodwitch, someone needs to…hmm…"

"Church, what are you thinking?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing! Just…working on something."

"and that's match!" goodwitch called, "that makes it 4-0 cardin." She walked up to the small fox faunus that had just been beaten, "you focus too much on head on confrontation, you need to learn that the best solution isn't always to attack from the front."

"yes ma'am." He mumbled. Limping to the front.

"Hmph, learn your place." Cardin muttered as the faunus limped past.

"oh this guys going down." Church said.

"how do you know that."

"the next fight is…Cardin Winchester Vs Ruby Rose?" goodwitch said in confusion, "I didn't…" she shook her head, "need to quit staying up so late," she muttered, "ms. Rose, may you please come down."

Ruby slowly stood up, "church what did you do?" Ruby whispered fiercely as they walked down to the combat floor.

"I'm teaching him a lesson," Church said, "good luck kid." He winked out of existence.

"good luck pipsqueak." Cardin grunted as Ruby walked past, "my aura hasn't even fell from 90% all day, and that little light bulb won't do anything to help you."

Ruby bristled slightly, "you're right Church, lets teach him a lesson." She said, stopping a couple yards away from Cardin.

_Glad you see it my way Red, _Church said, _orders?_

"scan his vitals, find a weakness as soon as the time starts, I'll try and whittle him down while you do."

_got it, anything else?_

"just give me as many early warnings as you can." Ruby said, getting into a fighting stance.

"the match will begin in three…two…one…"

_shoot left now! _Church shouted in the earpiece, making Ruby take off to the left as Cardin opened up with a blast from his fire dust crystal, Ruby changed her scythe into rifle form and started firing off shots at the hulking knight, who blocked each one with his mace head.

_Vitals scan complete, he's solid fucking muscle, doesn't seem like there's any previous injury that we can exploit._

"old fashioned way then?" Ruby asked.

_Yeah, his armor's weakest at the chinks, aim for those spots._

Ruby stopped and fired off a few more shots, cardin deflected each one back at her, forcing her to dodge, "that mace is getting in the way!" ruby growled, dodging away as yet another blast flew at her.

_That's it! Get the flail away from him! Aim for his hand!_

"I already tried that, he's blocking each one.

_Then lets turn this into a melee._

"finally," Ruby said, dashing in close and slashing at him with Crescent Rose, Cardin jumped back in surprise, completely taken unawares by the sudden change in tactics, but quickly rallying and swinging his mace with a destructive force, Ruby ducked and dodged as much as she can, swinging and spinning her scythe, whittling away at Cardins Aura as she did.

_Hook his mace! Now!_

Ruby quickly did as she was told, pulling the mace out of Cardins grip and sending it flying across the arena.

_Capitalize on it! _Church shouted, but Ruby was already in motion, hitting Cardin with a series of combos while he attempted to protect himself with his arms, until he suddenly struck out and sent Ruby flying back.

"I don't need my mace to fight," Cardin said cockily, getting into a fighting stance.

Ruby glared at him as she stood up.

_No need to go back in close Red, _church said, _whittle him down with-watch out!_

Ruby jumped back, eyes wide as she watched cardin suddenly dart in close, slamming his fist into the spot she was just at, cracking the concrete with his gauntlet covered hand, she darted to the side once more as he lunged for her again.

_Shit I forgot to account for his semblance, _church grouched, _it gives him spurts of inhumane strength for short lengths of time._

"what do I do?" Ruby asked, slightly panicky as she jumped away from Cardin once more.

_Get him off balance! _

"how!?"

_shoot woman! Shoot!_

Ruby jumped one last time and started firing at Cardin, taking him by surprise and sending him back a couple steps, she started darting around, firing at the chinks in his armor as he attempted to block with his bracers, wincing as they tinged off, "you got to try a lot harder if you want-" he stopped as Ruby flew past him, pulling his legs out from under him, she rebounded off the wall and shot into the air, emptying her clip at Cardin before landing full force on his groin.

_that shut him up, _Church mused as the buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the fight, Cardin groaned as he slowly rolled over, clutching his groin in pain.

"and that's how you put someone in their place." Church said, appearing on Ruby's shoulder once more.

"congratulations Ms. Rose on your victory," Professor Goodwitch said, "though you may want to start watching your Aura, it was almost a defeat for you."

"what? No it wasn't! she's barely in the yellow." Church said, looking at the board.

"so was Cardin before that last attack," Goodwitch said, 'If he had gotten two good hits on her, she would've lost."

"un-fucking-believable." Church said as goodwitch walked over to Cardin to give him his evaluation.

"maybe your'e right about that Armor.' Ruby said as she pushed her goggles up, "if I had some, I wouldn't of even been in the yellow."

"glad you said that, because I got the schematics done, just need you to look them over." Church said, "incoming bear hug."

"wha-" Ruby stopped as Yang practically tackled her to the ground, leaving Church suspended in the air.

"tried to warn ya." Church said with a shrug.

"that was a great fight sis!" Yang gushed, hugging her sister strongly between her arms.

"yang…Crushing…Me…" Ruby gasped.

"whoops, sorry!" Yang said quickly, letting her sister go. Ruby took a gasp of fresh air and collapsed on the ground.

"oh don't over exaggerate," Church said, "your vitals are fine."

"doesn't mean it didn't hurt." She muttered, slowly sitting up as Weiss and Blake walked up.

"good job Ruby." Blake said with a smile, "never thought I'd see Cardin get his ass kicked by someone other than Yang or Jaune."

"well, I wasn't the only one who was out there," she said, "right Church?"

'uh…well, I mean…I only constructed Data and gave ruby options…" Church said, scratching the back of his head, "not like I was fighting or anything…"

'but you got me through that fight, if you hadn't of been there, Cardin might have gotten those last two hits in."

Church looked down, "yeah…I guess you're right…man we are awesome!"

Ruby giggled as she stood up and walked back to the stands with her team.

"a couple of announcements students," goodwitch called, pushing her glasses up, "this years Vytal festival will be held in Mistral, those of you who would like to go and compete in the tournament must put in the necessary paperwork by the end of this week."

"we still going to that Rubes?" Yang asked as the bell rang and they all stood up, walking out of the room.

"as soon as I figure out how to fill the forms out…" Ruby said with a nervous chuckle.

"it's actually really easy red," Church said, "just a lot of pages."

"do you need help filling it out?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

"no, I can get it Weiss." Ruby said with a smile.

"sheesh, you guys act like it's a fucking mortgage contract." Church muttered.

"has about the same commitment," Weiss said, "going to compete in the vytal tournament is a big deal, we'll be representing Vale."

"get off the soap box ice queen, it can't be that important." Church said dismissively.

"it actually is," Blake said, walking up to Ruby, narrowing her eyes at church, "the last Vytal tournament was disrupted by terrorists who tried to throw the world into chaos, this one will show just how far the world has come since then."

"hmm…then lets get this paperwork started."

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Ruby sat at her desk, slowly filling out the four pages she had to for the vytal festival, with Church sitting cross-legged across from her on a pencil holder, offering his services.

"that's wrong."

'I know…"

"that has two T's."

"I know."

"blake's birthday isn't in November."

"Church!" ruby whined.

"Sorry, sorry, just trying to help." He said, holding his hands up.

'can you two please be quiet!" Yang groaned, sitting up, "I can't sleep with you two talking!"

"same." Weiss and Blake chorused.

Ruby sighed and gathered up the papers, "I'll be right back," she said, "''everything's almost done, I just need to get Professor Goodwitch signature, she's usually up this late.' She started to walk out, Church disappearing from the desk and appearing on her shoulder.

"Ruby." Weiss called, "are you sure you don't need my help?"

"I'm sure Weiss! Me and church got it." She said, blushing slightly, "but…if you want to come along…?"

"why would I want that? I just want to make sure those papers get where they need to go!" Weiss huffed, lying back down, making Ruby deflate slightly before walking out.

"sheesh, what a bitch." Church muttered as Ruby made her way down the hall.

"she's just messing around Church," Ruby said.

"you sure? Because it seems like all she cares about is herself."

"Church." Ruby said warningly.

"I'm serious! Every time you suggest something, or ask her something, she gets all snooty and mean, and then you just sit there and take it, with your…dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels high…'

"w-what?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"those three monoamines rise when you feel attraction.' Church said, crossing his arms, "there anything you want to say red?"

Ruby blushed, "w-what!? Me and Weiss? No way, there's just…you're…no…"

"Try that again without blushing or stuttering, and I'll believe you." Church challenged.

Ruby looked around, then whispered, "okay, so I like her, so what?"

"so what? She's the queen bitch of the school! All she does is belittle you and pretend like you're a nuisance, do you really want to be with that?"

"you don't really know how she is Church, she's actually very caring and kind….just…not in front of people."

"it sounds more like you're trying to convince yourself." Church muttered, 'Honestly red, why her? You could've chosen Blake, or that cute little bunny Velvet, but instead you chose her to fall in love with, why?"

"because…she's the first friend I've ever had okay?" Ruby mumbled, stopping in the middle of the hall, "and she's cute and…" she sighed, "I'm not lying when I say that she's nice, she does everything she can for this team, she even gave up her position as heiress so she could stay and she helps me with my homework, and she tries to spend time with me sometimes…"

church hummed, 'then why don't you actually try asking her out?" he asked, "I mean, see if she feels the same way?"

"because I'm a chicken." Ruby said, starting to walk once more.

"Come on, that can't be it."

"I'm serious! I've tried before, and I chicken out at the last second."

"then don't chicken out next time." Church said, "Just blurt it out, 'hey ice queen, wanna go on a date and suck face?' it shouldn't be that hard."

"it is hard! Have you met Weiss!?"

Church sighed, "humans, I'm never going to understand them."

Ruby just groaned and walked into Professor Goodwitches office, where she found the professor working on paperwork, dressed in a turtleneck sweater and black tights, "good evening Ms. Rose," she said without looking up, "do you have your teams paperwork?"

"yes ma'am!" she said, putting the paperwork in front of her, "everything should be in order."

"thank you Ms. Rose, you're actually the first team leader to bring me the paperwork on time, Mr. Arc came by to try but had forgotten several documents that he needed."

"well everything should be there," Church said, "made sure she had everything."

Goodwitch narrowed her eyes, "Ms. Rose, may I please talk to you…without Church here."

"uh….what? come on, it's not like I can just walk outside," church said, "I'm kinda ingrained in her head you know."

"true, but you can transport most of your consciousness to another machine, which I suggest you do."

"but-"

"Now.'

"sorry kid, but she's terrifying even to an artificial intelligence construct who can't die…so…later."

Church winked out of existence, leaving Ruby alone with Goodwitch.

"Ms. Rose." She said, leaning forward.

"Yes ma'am?" Ruby asked, slightly wary.

"how are you feeling?"

"uh…what?" she asked in complete confusion.

"how are you feeling?" she asked again, "you've been partnered with the Alpha AI for almost a month, has it had any effect on your health."

'um…no, if anything he's kept me in better health than usual." Ruby mumbled, "and its Church…he prefers church."

"I'm aware," Goodwitch said, "has he done anything…unusual?"

"other than hack netflix to watch movies? No." Ruby said, then thought about it, "but…when I got him, I thought he would be more…serious, you know? Like a computer program…but…it's like he's his own person."

"that's because he was working with project freelancer for quite some time before being paired with you." goodwitch said, "at least three years, which means he's been able to start developing his own personality based on those he worked with. Is this a problem?"

"No! not at all…I was just…kinda surprised." Ruby said, "I mean, he doesn't hesitate to speak his mind at all."

"that is a gift from his creator." Goodwitch muttered, "well, if your'e sure there's nothing to be worried about, I guess things are fine, I'll make sure your paperwork gets to Ozpin, you may leave Ms. Rose."

"yes ma'am," Ruby said, walking out of the office.

"so how'd it go?" Church asked, appearing on Ruby's shoulder as she walked out.

"good, she just asked if I was feeling alright." Ruby said as she walked.

"huh…weird...guess she thinks an AI messes up your mind or something."

"yeah, something." Ruby hummed, pulling her goggles down, "can you send me the design that you made for the armor?"

"sure thing red."


	3. Chapter 3

"are you sure this is part of the armor?"

Church sighed, "yes Red, it's part of the armor," he said, appearing on the desk, looking at Ruby who was looking at the skin-tight bodysuit with uncertainty.

"doesn't look like it would protect much…" she muttered.

"of course it doesn't, it goes under the armor so it doesn't chafe, it's also like a hard shell, protecting from minor injuries."

Ruby whined, "I just…it doesn't look like me…"

"it's not like I'm asking you to wear this and this alone," Church said, "I'm pretty sure ice queen would have a nosebleed if she saw you in just that."

Ruby blushed, "knew I shouldn't of told you about my crush." She muttered.

"yeah, that was a bad call on your part, so go ahead and put the suit on, and then we'll get the actual armor on."

Ruby groaned but went into the bathroom while Church kept looking at the schematics.

"I still say I should keep my skirt!" Ruby called out.

"and I say we need practicality." Church said, looking at the table where the armor they had purchased sat, "don't worry, I'm sure you'll like how it looks in the end."

Ruby groaned and walked out, shifting uncomfortably in the suit, "it's tight." She muttered.

"It's supposed to be, now, start getting the rest of the armor on, I'm sure you know how."

Ruby sighed and started putting the pieces on, "are you going to be doing this for the rest of my team too?"

"well I tried to talk the Ice Queen and Yang into getting armor, but Ice Queen said she was fine and for me to shove it, and Yang said she already tried to get armor and couldn't find anything to fit."

"what about Blake?" Ruby asked, fastening a leather gauntlet on her hand.

'Blake outright refused when I asked, said something about 'trained to fight without it' whatever that means."

Ruby stepped out in her new armor, it was simplistic, with a skirt made of leather with chainmail covering her front and back, it was fastened over her midriff by silver buttons and held up by two belts, a steel chest piece protected her chest and was attached to a leather gorget by straps, steel pouldrons sat on her shoulders "It's heavy." She muttered.

"it's the lightest I could get without making the pieces brittle, other then that, how do you like it."

Ruby looked at herself, "i like it." She said with a small smile, "you even incorporated my skirt!"

"well, I know you wanted to keep your skirt, so I just made one out of chainmail."

Ruby twirled, looking down at her skirt and watching it flare slightly.

"Now all that's missing is your cape." He said, motioning to the red fabric lying on Weiss' bed.

Ruby picked it up and put it on, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "I love it." She said.

"good, now let your team in, they're getting impatient."

Ruby walked over to the door and opened it up, showing her sister and Blake waiting outside.

"Wow Rubes!" Yang exclaimed, "that looks amazing!"

"you look like a serious huntress now." Blake said with a smile.

"thanks guys." Ruby said with a small blush, "um…where's Weiss?"

"she decided to go to the library before class." Yang said, her smile falling a little, "Something about, 'a new set of armor isn't important enough to distract me from class',"

"typical ice queen." Church said, appearing on Ruby's shoulder, "but hey ,two out of three ain't bad."

Ruby just sighed, "so um…when is combat class again?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"fifteen minutes," Yang said, "if you want we can go now and talk with team JNPR before class starts.'

Ruby smiled a little, 'yeah, that'll be good," she said as the three started walking down the hall.

"So Rubes, how much did that armor cost?" Yang asked.

"Thinking of getting some for your self Yang?" Ruby asked with a smile.

"huh, no, no armor they have can contain these puppies." Yang said, gesturing to her chest.

"not true, but then again if I had boobs that big I'd hate to have a gigantic plate of armor squashing them down."

"exactly." Yang said with a grin, "I'm just wondering how much she paid."

"technically she's not paying anything," Church said, "but for the sake of knowledge, 43,000 lien."

"holy-" Yang started but stopped when Blake elbowed her.

"she doesn't have to pay for it because Atlas provides a uniform budget for all it's operatives, and since Ruby is technically an operative, she gets the uniform bonus, and basic pay."

"aw! My sister the working girl!" Yang gushed hugging her sister.

"Yang…can't…breathe…" Ruby gasped.

"Calm down gigantor," Church said as Yang let Ruby go.

"Ruby! Yang! Blake!" Pyrrha shouted happily, making the three girls turn towards their friend.

"Hey Pyrrha," Yang greeted, Blake just nodded politely.

"hi." Ruby said cutely, waving her hand.

"hello everyone." Pyrrha said with a smile, "and Ruby, nice armor, where'd you get it?"

"Charon Industries." Ruby said, "Church ordered it for me."

"they were the best quality of armor we'd get without going to private suppliers and I think that's a little out of our price range."

"well Charon really is good, I got my armor from them." Pyrrha said.

"so, there a reason you outside of combat class with us instead of with your little…boy toy?" Yang asked with a wiggle of her eyebrow, referring to Jaune.

Pyrrha blushed, "trust me, nothing would make me happier then to be right with him right now but…Ms. Goodwitch called me and asked me to come find you…because there's someone in the class looking for Ruby."

"who is it?" Ruby asked.

"she didn't say."

Ruby looked at the door and slowly walked towards it, her friends at her back as she pushed the doors open, she found the usual sight of the combat room, students sitting in the stand talking with each other, and down on the floor, Goodwitch was talking with two individuals in what looked like power armor.

"Ms. Rose!" Goodwitch called, seeing the young huntress walk in, "glad you finally came, can you come down here please?"

"those two are apart of project freelancer." Church whispered to Ruby as she walked down the stairs, "their armor gives it away, it's MKVII MJOLNIR armor, still looks like the old models but lighter, faster, and with a shit more cybernetics."

Ruby finally got to the floor, feeling like a small child next to the two gigantic freelancers, the shortest was easily several inches taller then ruby, and the larger of the two was over seven feet, wearing a helmet that looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, an orb-like blob of orange glass, the shorter one had the standard issue helmet, making him look a little more human.

"Ruby Rose?" the smaller of the two asked.

"Y-Yes sir?" Ruby asked.

The freelancer reached up and pulled the helmet off, revealing the red hair of a young woman. Piercing green eyes looking down at her, cold, calculating, "I'm agent Carolina, this is my partner Agent Maine, we were sent here to assess your physical abilities."

"um…nice to meet you." Ruby said, blushing furiously, feeling very embarrassed to have mistaken the woman for a man.

She smirked, "don't worry, you aren't the first one and you won't be the last." Carolina said, looking back to Goodwitch, "is there a way you can set up a sparring match between her and a fourth year team?"

Goodwitch narrowed her eyes, "even if I could, I wouldn't, all of our fourth year teams are way out of this teams league, despite their combat prowess, and I'd rather none of my students get hurt."

Carolina quirked an eyebrow, "what about a third year team, surely she's good enough to take on a third year team."

Goodwitch bristled slightly, "I do believe Team CFVY is available."

"then get them. and tell them to bring everything they've got, I want to make sure this girl is up to snuff."

"Team CFVY against team RWBY? I'm sure it'd be a good match up but-" Glynda started

"I think your'e mistaken," Carolina said, "I want Little Rose here to take them all, on her own."

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Weiss sat in the library, looking at her sister through the webcam on the computer, "so you're sure that there's nothing you can tell me about project Freelancer."

"I'm sorry Weiss," Winter said, "but other then letting you know that Project Freelancer is made up of agents from every kingdom, there's nothing else I know…except…"

'what?" Weiss asked, "except what?"

she sighed, "there's been rumors about the projects agents, said to be even better then Atlesian specialists, the best gear, the best weaponry, the best intel…rumor has it they've made entire White Fang Cells disappear over night," Winter shook her head, "I don't know how much truth there is in that, but I do know there's been a couple of missions recently that have been curtailed by project Freelancer, one second we're looking at a aerial view of a white fang compound, the next our feed gets disrupted and when we get it back, there's bodies all over the compound."

Weiss shivered slightly, "and Ruby's apart of this organization now…" she muttered.

"only by name." Winter said, "they can't make her go on any missions for them, they could request a hunter team and they might get team RWBY, but it's highly unlikely."

"but still…she has their tech in her head, what's to stop them from…brainwashing her or something."

"I doubt they have the power to do that," winter said with a chuckle, "Just watch out for her, and if any Freelancer agents show up, don't freak out, okay?"

"alright…thank you Winter."

"of course, now I have to go, have a good day." Winter turned the feed off and Weiss sighed once more before standing and walking out of the library.

"hey Weiss!" Jaune said, waving at her from his chair as she walked by.

"Jaune, what are you doing here?" she asked, giving him a judgmental glare. "Combat class starts in eight minutes.

"well me and Pyrrha were studying, but then Goodwitch called and asked her to go find your team." Jaune said, closing his book, "and I guess I should probably stop waiting for Pyrrha and head to class huh?"

"that would be ideal." She muttered, walking towards the entrance once more.

Jaune stood and quickly caught up with her, 'so, what were you doing in the library? You usually don't come to study in here unless it's with Ruby."

"I was trying to find more information on Project Freelancer, since Ruby's apart of the organization by name-" she stopped slightly as she saw the students around her start to run, "-i…thought that it would be prudent…to…" she stopped as Sky suddenly nudged past her, "Hey!"

"oh sorry!" Sky said quickly.

"what's going on?" Jaune asked.

"Ruby is about to face off against Team CFVY, we're gonna go watch!" he turned around, "hey guy's! wait up!"

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Ruby stood on the combat floor, looking at the four third year students she was going to be facing off against. "any plans Church?" Ruby muttered.

"I'm reviewing the videos on their fights…I'm starting to formulate a plan but…it's gonna be tough."

"we've done tough before." Ruby said.

"true, but Team CFVY is in a league of their own, and it won't be like fighting Cardin, they adapt, improvise…this'll take all we got."

Ruby nodded, "scan vitals."

"on it boss." Church said, winking out of existence.

"done with your team discussion?" Coco teased Ruby.

"wouldn't you like to know." Ruby sassed, grinning at her.

"nice new outfit by the way," Coco said, looking her over and giving a low whistle, "really makes you look…mature."

"No flirting with the enemy Coco." Velvet said with an eyeroll.

"would it be a real fight if I didn't?" Coco asked, grinning leerily at Ruby, making her shift slightly, blushing a bright red.

_Well at least we know she's interested…not in the fight, but either way._

"Shut up Church." Ruby muttered, pulling her scythe out and deploying it, then bringing her goggles down, looking at the data that church was sending her.

"The fight ends when the other team can't continue the fight." Carolina called, "Aura levels don't save you."

"that's barbaric." Goodwitch growled, tightening her grip on her riding crop.

"that's life." Carolina said, "and I want to make sure there's no holding back."

Ruby took in a shakey breath, "alright…lets do this…" she muttered.

_Go after Coco first, most usually attempt to take down Yatsuhashi or Fox, since they're more along the lines of close range fighters, but hit Coco first and you throw the rest into confusion._

_Got it._

"the match begins in three…two…one…begin!"

Ruby shot forward faster then anyone could keep trace of, going straight for Coco, who let a surprised gasp out as she attempted to dodge, getting nicked by the Crescent Rose.

_Her aura's down by fifteen percent, _Church said, _try for one more pass and-Fox incoming in three._

Ruby quickly spun around, hitting his arms to the side.

_Yatsu coming up from behind!_

Ruby jumped and vaulted over the large man, peppering both him and Fox with rounds.

_Velvet and Coco are targeting you! you have ten seconds before you're hit by gatling gun fire._

Ruby's eyes darted towards the female pair, both of them were holding Coco's Gatling gun, with Velvet's being made out of hardlight, Ruby positioned her scythe and fired, making her speed quickly towards the two females, she slammed her knee hard into Coco's chest, sending her flying back into the wall before she turned around and hit Velvet with the blunt end of her scythe, sending her tumbling across the ground towards Yatsu,

_Nice hit kid, she's down by twenty-five now…but…you got a very pissed off team to deal with now, I suggest fucking them up._

Ruby looked at the three remaining teammates of CFVY, "lets get started."

Weiss and Jaune ran into the now crowded combat room, "Weiss!" Yang called from her seat, making Weiss shove her way over, "where have you been?"

"the library," she said, "what's all this I hear about Ruby fighting Team CFVY?"

"the Freelancers wanted to see how she's progressed," she said, motioning to the combat floor, where Ruby was currently in a dance of death with Team CFVY, spinning, jumping and dodging the attacks of all four third year huntsmen in training.

"This is crazy! She needs help!" Weiss said frantically, going to pull Myrtenaster out.

"she's got it under control," Blake said as she watched Ruby slide between Fox and Yatsu, pulling Fox's feet out from under him before jumping up and slamming the blunt end of her scythe into Yatsu's head, sending him reeling before jumping over Velvet's attempt to attack her from behind with a copy of Ember Celica, Ruby changes Crescent Rose into it's rifle form and started firing down at velvet, sending her flying into the air while making Velvet retreat, she then turned around and transformed her scythe once more, spinning it quickly to protect her from Coco's gatling gun, which the Fashionista wielded with an angry eyes.

"you broke my glasses!" she snapped.

"sorry!" Ruby shouted back, propelling herself towards the ground and slamming into Yatsu as he tried to get back up, "Not sorry!"

"man she really is doing good." Jaune said.

"her aura's in the Yellow." Weiss sniffed,"she's not doing really good."

"considering who she's fighting, and the fact that their aura's almost in the red, I say she's doing good." Pyrrha said, grinning sheepishly when Weiss glared at her.

"still, this test should've been for all of team RWBY not just our leader."

"they only want to know her combat skills," Yang said, "since you know, she's the one with church."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the freelancers, before looking back to the fight.

Ruby slammed hard into Velvet, sending her flying into the wall and cracking it with extravagant force, making her aura completely break, knocking her out.

"Velvs!" Coco shouted, turning to glare at Ruby, who was now simultaneously deflecting attacks from both Fox and Yatsu. "Yatsu, Fox, get back!" she shouted, flipping a hatch open and dropping a Fire Dust Crystal in.

Fox vaulted back while Yatsu tried to fall back, only for Ruby to hook him around the neck and send him flying, he crashed into the barrier with a loud Crack! He fell to the ground, clutching his arm.

Coco levelled her gun once more at Ruby, the barrels rotating, "burn bitch." Coco said, sending flaming dust bullets right at Ruby.

Ruby dove to the side, watching with wide eyes as flames sprouted where she was standing, the large caliber bullets tearing up the concrete, "I think this is personal now…" Ruby muttered, using her semblance to escape the flaming bullets.

_You knocked out a cute bunny and broke their tanks arm, yeah, I think it's personal now._

Ruby rolled her eyes and back-flipped over Coco, new data going through her goggles, she swung hard and slammed the side of Crescent Rose into Coco's head, sending her flying into Fox, both of their Aura's breaking upon impact with the wall.

"and that's a match." Carolina said, nodding in approval as Goodwitch pulled her scroll out.

"we need a medical team down here on the training floor." She said, watching as Ruby slowly walked over to Velvet, who was groggily sitting up, Yatsu was helping her as best he could, his right arm huddled close to his chest.

"you two alright?" Ruby asked carefully, looking at Yatsu.

"we're fine Ruby," Velvet slurred, trying to concentrate, "Hit me head pretty hard…"

"my arm will heal," Yatsu said, standing up and looming over Ruby.

Church reappeared on Ruby's shoulder, "can he…sit back down? You know, it was a lot better when he was only two feet taller than us."

"i'm really sorry for…you know, breaking your arm…" Ruby said, completely ignoring Church.

"It is fine, the rules were not to hold back." Yatsu said, giving her a small smile.

Ruby grinned and was about to say something when she heard a snarl, she turned around and let out a shocked gasp as Fox suddenly jumped at her, his gauntlets raised.

"Fox, no!" Coco shouted, Yatsuhashi moved to stop him, but was stopped short when Agent Maine jumped out and intercepted fox, grabbing his head and slamming him into the ground, cracking the charred concrete.

Instantly the whole room was on their feet, weapons drawn and ready, Even the injured members of team CFVY had stood, clutching their weapons as best they could.

"Let him go," Coco growled, her gatling gun leveled at Maine, blood trailing into her eyes.

"Maine," Carolina said slowly, walking towards him, her guns were still up, but she had her hand on her side-arm, "let the kid off with a warning.

Maine turned his head towards her, then back to Fox before standing up, leaving Fox groaning on the ground, 'Punk ass bitch." Maine growled throatily as he walked back to Carolina's side.

Coco quickly dropped her weapon and ran over to Fox, carefully moving his head, he let out a small cry of pain as she cradled his head in her lap, "don't worry Foxy, you'll be alright," she said soothingly, then looked up to glare at Maine, "what the hell was that."

"don't get your panties in a twist," Carolina said, "Maine saw a threat, and neutralized it, perhaps you should have better command over your men."

Coco felt her lip twitch as a medical team ran onto the floor, going straight for Fox.

Carolina looked at Ruby, who was clutching Crescent Rose tightly, "debriefing in ten," she said, walking towards the exit, "come alone."

"Man," Church muttered, watching as the two freelancers exited the room, "those guy's are dicks."

Ruby nodded slightly and walked over to Coco, "is he going to be alright?" She asked worriedly.

Coco turned towards her, her glare softening when she saw Ruby's worried face, "he'll be fine," she said, turning back to Fox as they loaded him on a stretcher, "so…you're really throwing your lot in with these Freelancer jerks."

"I'm not throwing anything in with them." she said.

Coco gave a dry chuckle, "could've fooled me," she muttered, "you have their pay, their tech, and you even have their agents coming to evaluate you."

"those are the terms," she muttered, "but that doesn't mean they have any say in where I go, what I do, or who my friends are."

Coco smiled, turning to the younger girl, "and that's why I like ya kid," she said, ruffling her hair, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my team taken care of and then log some more time in the gym, gonna have to make the score even some day." She started walking away, with Ruby watching her the entire time.

"another crush?" Church asked, "because I like this one."

"shut up church." She muttered, turning around and looking at her teammates.

"that…was…awesome!" Yang exclaimed, "you took down all of team CFVY! and you still have over half your aura!"

"it was a good fight." Blake said carefully, 'But….the terms…those freelancers…"

"i know," Ruby said quietly. "and what Maine did to Fox…"

"he only did what most people would have done." Yang tried to reason.

"but the way he did it is what the problem is; Fox didn't have his aura, a hit like that could have severely damaged him."

"or killed." Church interjected, "hell, that hit would've killed a normal person, i'm surprised Fox got away as lightly as he did."

Ruby looked towards the exit where Carolina and Maine had disappeared. "what are the chances of them coming to find me if i just leave and head back to the dorm?"

"4,243,631 to 1." Church said, "wanna know what it is if we actually attempt to hide?"

"no…but in the likely event-"

"4,243,630 to 1"

"it only went down one point!"

"they're just that good."

Ruby sighed, "I'll see you guy's in the cafeteria." she said as she started to walk towards the exit, "don't wait up."


End file.
